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espeelma

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Everything posted by espeelma

  1. I first got an email from the executive offices offering me what you had suggested they might: cancel for full refund or keep the reservation for a 20% refund. I rejected that and told them in an email that "Your contract states that I may receive a minimum recovery of $5000 if I take this issue to arbitration and am awarded by the arbitrator an amount greater than Priceline's last written settlement offer. If I do not hear from you again within 3 days I will initiate the arbitration process." I also sent them a copy of a very formal-looking arbitration complaint that I had prepared to initiate the arbitration process. (It is sometimes helpful to be a retired attorney.) Approximately 3 days later I got a phone call in which they upped their offer. I had earlier told them I would not post the actual amount here. I will state that I initially told them I was willing to settle by keeping the existing reservation at no cost to me. The Express Deal I originally accepted was for a 3-star hotel, 1 King Bed + Sofabed - Standard Room; Empire State Building area (should have been Times Square area); $96/night Dec. 22-Dec. 26; Taxes and Fees $130.64, for a total charge of $514.64, for the Hyatt Place New York City/Times Square. I don't believe that hotel it is being offered as a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal now, but today's posted price on Priceline is $254/night for total cost of $1,307. (The posted price today for the other Hyatt Place, in the Empire State Building area is actually lower, at $196/night.) Also interesting is that Booking.com describes the Hyatt Place Times Square as being in the Hell's Kitchen area. Thanks again for your help and support. This is a great site!
  2. Priceline made an offer to settle our dispute and I accepted it. However, as of this morning, their website still incorrectly shows the Hyatt Place New York City/Times Square property as being in the Priceline Empire State Building area.
  3. Actually, I'm considering invoking arbitration. I am legally entitled to the benefit of my bargain, which is the value of a hotel for Dec. 22-26 in the Empire State Building Area that has a king bed and a sofabed and is a hotel at one of the the four locations mapped on their Express Deal offer page. They owe me more than cancellation and a refund. In addition, arbitration provides the possibility of a $5000 minimum recovery if an arbitrator should award me more than the last written settlement offer provided by Priceline, plus costs and attorney's fees. See Priceline's Terms and Conditions, Part I-A-2-g. Please note that, as of today, (10/31/2019 at 2:12 pm), Priceline's web site still [incorrectly] describes the Hyatt Place Manhattan/Times Square, as being in the Empire State Building Area. In other words, their web site still misleads potential customers as to its location. I did call the Hyatt Place/Times Square phone number that is on my reservation, but it simply transfers to the Hyatt corporate reservation people. The Hyatt rep. at the Hyatt system-wide reservation desk tried to call the Hyatt Place Times Square hotel directly, but found that their on-site phone number is not yet operational, either within the Hyatt phone system or using the regular telephone number. So it's a little difficult to understand how exactly the corporate official who emailed me this morning that he had "tried to reach out to the hotel to ask for a cancellation exception on [my] behalf" did so, and was unsuccessful in getting a cancellation. And note: I have never suggested that mere cancellation and refund would be a satisfactory resolution of this dispute. The corporate reservation rep also told me that Hyatt hotel managers don't have authority to deal directly with Priceline, so that neither the HP Midtown South manager or the new HP Times Square manager would be able to reach out to Priceline and get Priceline to fix its error going forward. (Is that your understanding as well?) The corporate Hyatt reservationist did confirm that I have a reservation at the Hyatt Place Times Square for the four nights at issue.
  4. Please see the text of the email response I got this morning from Priceline "executive offices" in Connecticut., which follows. They still refuse to acknowledge their error or to offer me any relief. I have responded by email and included the information you suggested earlier about bringing to their attention the fact that they have plotted two different Hyatt Places at the same location. "I am writing to you today regarding your reservation at the Hyatt Place New York City/Times Square, under Trip Number xxxxxx. Please know that we have received your letter in our Executive Offices, and I understand that you are concerned about the location of your confirmed hotel. "We provide hotel chain examples for illustration of what you may expect when choosing a star level. The examples are listed as guidance of hotels in the area and are subject to change, depending on the current inventory of our hotel partners. "In reviewing your records, I see that you have indeed selected the Empire State Building Area during the booking process, and we confirmed that the said property is within the shaded area of the map displayed before the booking was completed. Moreover, I confirmed that the Empire State Building is 0.9 miles/1.5 KM away from the property, based on the information available on the hotel's website as well. "Since this reservation is restricted, I tried to reach out to the hotel to ask for a cancellation exception on your behalf; however, due to the policy associated with the rate, no approval was obtained. Our apologies, but your booking remains non-refundable. "Thank you for your time. "Sincerely, "[Name omitted} "Executive Offices"
  5. Thanks for the helpful info as to what to possibly expect from them. But, as you know, the blocks going East and West on the New York grid are long ones! Especially in late December! 😉 And one of the reasons I committed to a non-cancelable Express Deal was that the identified hotels were relatively close to the 33rd St. PATH Station. We have family in the West Village and taking the PATH from Christopher Street as opposed to MTA saves us quite a stretch of walking on that end. I will try to get back in the habit of always linking to Priceline through the BetterBidding link as well as using your helpful tools and the discount codes. Will let you know if/when I hear from Priceline.
  6. Thanks for the validation on this whole issue. I will keep you updated. .Since this trip is not until Christmas week I have some time. I never would have booked this early except it was a very attractive offer--maybe because the new hotel on 39th is not open yet and there are no reviews for it.. I should add that this was one of the Express Deal offers that tells you in advance that you will get one of four plotted properties on the map. One of them was at the 36th St. address of the Hyatt Place Midtown South, and the deal offer said I would get a King room with a sofabed. The other three (probable) hotels did not have that room option. Accordingly, I was expecting the Hyatt Place Midtown. Luckily I didn't wait until closer to the time of the trip to verify the name and address of the Hyatt Place I was assigned.
  7. Yes, this does seem like a Priceline error that should have been recognized and addressed by Priceline customer service. When I first called, I explained all of the above and was told that Priceline records showed that the hotel I got was in the zone I requested. It was escalated to a supervisor. The reps kept offering to send me a copy of the "contract" which showed that my Express Deal could not be canceled. Ultimately the "supervisor" hung up on me. I then did two on-line chats with customer service. I kept transcripts of both. In the first chat I said "There are two Hyatt Places in Manhattan. The Hyatt place Midtown South is in the Empire State Bldg. zone. The Hyatt Place Times Square is at 350 West 39th St which is .7 miles away from the boundary of the Empire State Bldg. zone." Ultimately I ran out of time and had to leave the chat. My final statement asked them how I could "resume resolution of this issue." I did not receive a response. In the second chat, I repeated the information that the Times Square hotel is .7 miles away from the Empire State Bldg. zone and that "the Hyatt Place New York Times Square is not in the Empire State Bldg. zone. The Hyatt Place Midtown South is in the Empire State Bldg. zone.". I was told that "based on our records" you are in the designated area. This is a discounted reservation and it confines us from cancelling or changing. " I responded that "Your records showing the Hyatt Place Time Square in the Empire State Bldg. zone simply are wrong. Someone needs to actually check the address against the zone map. I have pdf.s of the addresses and I would be happy to provide them to you. If you do not have the authority to check this, please refer this chat to someone who can." " "Dan" responded that "You will still be provided the same resolution, since this has already been escalated to higher department. This reseviation is non cancellable." I responded. "This issue needs to be escalated to a still higher level." "Dan" responded "This was escalated already. *** Please call us at 800-774-2354 and ask for[a] supervisor, however thy will still provide you the same information." I then did call that number and did speak to a supervisor. The supervisor again stated that Priceline records showed that the assigned hotel was in the correct zone. I told the supervisor that this was the whole problem--the Priceline records were simply wrong as to what zone the assigned hotel was in. Finally, this supervisor gave me an address I could use to actually send hard copies of the maps of the two hotels to Priceline. It was only then that I sent the certified letter.
  8. I bid on a PRICELINE EXPRESS Deal for the Empire State Building Area. I was assigned the Hyatt Place NYC/Times Sq., which is a new hotel taking reservations for the first time in mid-November, 2019. It is located at 350 West 39th St (between 8th and 9th Ave.) and is approximately 1/2 mile west of the westernmost boundary of the Empire State Building Area, which is 6th Ave. The new Hyatt Place Times Square property is located within the boundaries of the Priceline Times Square Area. Priceline has apparently confused this new hotel with the Hyatt Place Midtown South, an existing property for many years, which is in the Empire State Building Area. See here for a Google map of the two hotels. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hyatt+Place+New+York+City%2FTimes+Square,+West+39th+Street,+New+York,+NY/Hyatt+Place+New+York%2FMidtown+-South,+West+36th+Street,+New+York,+NY/@40.7533502,-73.991814,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c259bdebb2f933:0x2b4f6817aad063c8!2m2!1d-73.9937032!2d40.755967!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c259a98033b3ab:0x5f191fc9b27d4ace!2m2!1d-73.985832!2d40.7504303!3e2 I have gotten nothing but stonewalling from Priceline Customer Service about this obvious Priceline error. Finally got an address that I could use to mail my documentation of this error, and I have sent that off via certified US mail, so we'll see if they will make this situation right.
  9. Amenities: Free Breakfast, Free Internet, Pet Friendly, Non-smoking, Gym, Business Center 9+ Guest Rating Purchased this approximately four weeks before check-in date. Benefited from BetterBidding 5% off Priceline Coupon to reduce total cost of this 5-night stay to $591.65.
  10. Any ideas? Free internet Smoke Free Rooms Accessible bathroom No reviews yet $84/ night for President's Day weekend in February
  11. Yes, this was a one-night stay for the evening of June 7 and also purchased on June 7. This hotel was not listed on your hotel list for Cleveland at that time.
  12. Same day purchase. Used Better Bidding link to PRICELINE. Total with taxes and fees $42.90. Crowne Plaza website price was $119.
  13. Amenities: Smoke Free Rooms, Fitness Center, Restaurant(s), Business Center, High-speed Internet Access, Spa Services
  14. Bid accepted for one night, a Sunday, for $120. Total charge $149.52. In previous days I had bid $100 and $105 without success.
  15. I have the Doubletree for 3 nights, November 19-22. Through HOTWIRE purchase made in March. Recently we decided to add a night and I got the Wyndham for the Sunday night of November 22 on Priceline, as it appeared that either the Doubletree was not being offered on Hotwire, or if so, it was in the $160 range. So there is a typo in my prior entry in this thread in that it says that I got the Wyndham Garden on Nov. 21. The two hotels are within walking distance and it looked like the Wyndham was a good possibility so I took a chance on Priceline and got the Wyndham as I had hoped in the Chelsea zone. For a bid of $120.
  16. I got the 3* Wyndham Garden Hotel Manhattan, Chelsea West for a $120 bid (Total $149.52) for November 21. It is close to the R/W Subway stop, 2 stops from the Time Square Stop, which is a couple of blocks from the Marquis. Marquis is between 45th and 46th and the Wyndham is on 24th, so about a 20-block cab ride. I made my bid on August 21. There are some other Chelsea zone hotels, but looks like the Wyndham is what is coming up on a regular basis as a successful bid on Priceline. This is a relatively new hotel, with pretty positive reviews on TripAdvisor, etc.
  17. If your teen is really crazy about musical theatre she'd probably be happier closer to Times Square than the Chelsea property (probably the new Doubletree-Chelsea). But it's all about balancing cost against proximity.
  18. If your teen is really crazy about musical theatre she probably would like to be closer to Times Square than the Chelsea property (probably the new Doubletree). But it's all about balancing cost against proximity.
  19. From Hotwire Support: "I understand you wish to clarify the address for your reservation at the Doubletree NYC-Chelsea. I regret the confusion this may have caused. . We have forwarded your request to our Hotel Research Team for review by our specialists. Once the address is confirmed, you will be sent an updated itinerary. Please allow 10 business days for the confirmation information to be provided to you. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to reply to this email or contact us directly at 1-866-HOTWIRE (468-9473). Thank you for choosing Hotwire."
  20. This may solve the mystery of the new 3.5* hotel showing at $99. Trip details show the hotel to be Doubletree NYC-Chelsea. Only concern is that the address listed on the confirmation is 128 West 35th Street. The Doubletree site shows address as 128 W. 29th Street. This appears to be a new hotel that is not yet open, but is taking reservations beginning later this spring. Fitness Restaurant Business Center Internet
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